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Now you too can claim that you’ve slept at Versailles like the King of France (or rather like Jacques Necker, Controller-General of Finances and last Chief Minister of Louis XVI… as that’s whose apartment you can stay in!). Airelles Palace of Versailles just opened and WOW what eye candy!
The hotel is in Le Grand Contrôle on the property, built in 1681, that hosted diplomats and ambassadors and other special guests. Just look! You can view the Orangerie from your bedroom and from a soak in the tub!
There was a four year countrywide hunt for antiques. 90 percent of the hotel’s furniture will be period-appropriate antiques!!
Wallcoverings and fabrics were made by Pierre Frey to mimic Marie Antoinette’s Petit Trianon!
Other hotel highlights:
Alain Ducasse Restaraunt
Valmont Spa
Indoor Pool
BUT the pièce de résistance is TOURS AND EVENTS for hotel guests only!! Before and After hours you will get private tours of different parts of Versailles! Just take my money now.
You can check out the hotel’s website here (and book me a room while you’re at it….) Images are all from Airelles.
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Love that French country / Provence garden look? Me too! Let’s read how we can emulate it in our own gardens (well, assuming you live in the right climate zone for these plants).
Frederic Fekkai’s garden, as seen in architectural digest
Plants and trees
The trees typically seen in a Provincial garden are Italian cypress trees, olives, sycamore (plane) trees, hornbeam. The plants that are usually seen are lavender, roses, little Ollie, boxwood, nepeta, sage, and wisteria. Plants are typically done in repeat and in masses. They will be sculpted to add variety but often times color palette is not too varied.
Let’s just study this photo below, which is of Chateau Mireille.
Chateau Mireille, as seen at Haven In
Notice the gravel first. A yellowish gravel in medium size grind. There isn’t a large variety of plants but lots of the same on repeat. Notice the boxwood all shaped into squares and on repeat. Notice the larger bushes in the back – all shaped into spheres. Notice the use of pots here and there. Notice how each area has a little destination.
Ok, let’s study this next photo. This is a beautiful garden, Saint Cannat by Thomas Gentilini.
Let’s see. Same yellow gravel. Little destinations to go to. Boxwood used to create shapes. Bushes formed into balls. There is an orchard of olives in the distance. There are cypress trees scattered. A pool serves as a water entire but there is also an old fountain too.
Under the shade of an old sycamore tree, hydrangeas make an appearance en mass. There are pots used for plants that are shaped into spheres. And that same gravel.
Boxwood hedges sculpted serve as a border. Pots with bushes sculpted into spheres. In this case, multiple water features since it is a huge chateau. There are sculpted hornbeam trees in a row.
Are you getting the idea? Yes, you say, but you showed me pictures of chateaus and I don’t live in one! I know, but you can take these ideas and translate it to your own backyard.
For instance, look below. Let’s say you had fence on all three sides of your backyard. You could get a small wall fountain (the one below is large). Put some gravel down. Here they used agapanthus planted in large masses, with vines on the back wall. You could plant little ollies, lavender, hydrangea (whatever grows where you are but planted in large amounts). Put some vines on your back fence with a fountain – jasmine, wisteria, climbing rose. You could plant say, two hornbeam or two olive trees and put boxwood around them to make it a focal point, and put a table and chairs underneath to make a nice dining spot.
If you are starting a new garden I’ll also give you a tip (if you live in California) – things here grow so well and fast that I wouldn’t spend the extra money on the bigger plants.
Tree alleys are classic! Yes, the photo above is Versailles, but do you have a driveway? Can you plant tall skinny trees on either side? Or what about a walkway to your front door? Can you plant some small cypress trees? (They come in mini, medium, and standard!)
After our case studies, have you figured out what we need for our French country garden?
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One of the dreamiest 18th century French farmhouses, Le Mas de Poiriers, is releasing a new book in June! If you are not familiar with Provence Poiriers, let me share a few pictures with you! This beautiful house was featured in Veranda Magazine several years ago and it is still one of my favorite issues! Here are a few photos to wet your appetite!
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Absolutely LOVE this beautiful French house! The architect was Carlos Elenes, interior design by Carolyne Ferguson, landscape architect Greg Grisamore. Photography by Mark Lohman. This house was originally featured in Luxe Magazine – you can read the full article there with the full details!
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I don’t know about you, but it seems lately I’ve done a majority of my shopping on Amazon. Today I’ve rounded up some favorite French Country Farmhouse finds on Amazon – and the good news is: they are budget friendly!
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Today’s post is dedicated to Pierre Frey’s ‘Sans Papillons’ and ‘Papillons’ wallpaper and fabric. It is one of my favorite patterns!
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Let’s talk about corona beds, no viruses allowed in them please!
The bed corona originated from the canopy bed which were used in medieval times by nobles to keep the cool drafts away from their cold castles.
A bed corona, also called Lit à Couronne, is suspended at the head of the bed (like a crown on a head) with drapery extending down to the sides of the edge of the bed.
If you want to learn about ALL the different types of canopy beds, look at this Veranda article here. I will only be showing bed coronas today!
by designer Alidadby Cathy KincaidCatherine Casteel Olasky and Maximilian P. Sinsteden, via WSJLe Mas Poiriers by RH baby and childTraditional Home
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Today is the day! My baby girl’s nursery reveal!! I am so excited to share it with you!
The nursery design started with wallpaper. I always knew that I wanted to wallpaper the nursery. I started searching for the perfect wallpaper and loved this one! It is a very cute bunny toile in grey and white. We chose a nice grey paint to complement it below the chair rail. We felt that if the wallpaper went all the way to the floor it would be a little overwhelming for the entire room.
I also always knew that I wanted to have a bed crown over the crib. I know it is a little bit over the top but I love it!! Don’t worry – it is safe and secure and will not topple down and cannot be pulled down. When she gets to the age when she starts grabbing onto things, we will likely have to remove the linen coming down from it. Do not fret – we will keep her safe!
The crib will convert to a toddler bed. We chose a petal pink velvet to go on the crib and other furniture as our cat *loves* linen. Anything linen would be destroyed.
Pictured below is the diaper changing table and dresser. A love her little swan rocker that she can use when she is a little older! I ultimately decided to go with white furniture even though on my inspiration board I had a lot of grey furniture picked out. It just looked better when they were all put together.
The other side of the room has a bookcase and glider. We will be spending many hours on the glider together! I love the pink velvet tufted ottoman as well. The giant pink rectangle on the wall is a pinboard. I remembered when I grew up in a wallpapered room it was nice having a pinboard as my mom wouldn’t let me put 100 holes in the wall to hang up my artwork and Spice Girl magazine cut outs!
A closer look at her bookcase. Many of the stuffed animals were mine.
This is a cute little piece of artwork I found that is on in a corner in her room! It has bunnies on the alphabet.
I hope you enjoyed the nursery tour!! I am thankful we ordered our furniture literally months ago as I fear if we had waited it would not have arrived on time!
We are so excited to welcome our baby girl into the world!! A huge shout out to my parents who did a majority of the work with the remodel this room. I wasn’t allowed to do anything but supervise – with the cat’s help, of course.
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We went to the Restoration Hardware Baby and Child store in person and I am sharing some dreamy nursery inspiration today!
They also have cute children’s bedroom style too!
We actually have this cute little chair we bought years ago in grey velvet for our own bedroom… might need it in pink too?
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Today I’m sharing some of my French country pieces decorated for Christmas!
Natural wooden nutcrackers sit on top of my vasselier, along with pinecones and natural trees.
The Steiff animal tree is tucked into a corner next to this fabulous armoire.
If you haven’t heard of Steiff, they are a German toy company makes handmade stuffed animals. They produced the first teddy bear. The ornaments on this tree are a combination of actual ornaments and then Steiff miniatures we tucked into it.
This is a collection combined from my Mom’s and Mine. We have been collecting them for years!
I wanted to hang some wreathes from the armoire doors, but feared I would ruin the carvings if I hung something on them!
At the end of the hallway, the mantel clock has moved to perch amongst some simple greenery!
In the entry way, my vintage Santa and snowman greet you on this French piece!
My advent calendar is also resting here… hmm… not full of chocolate this year, boo!!!
Sitting on a little French country side table is a collection of handmade Santas and a little bear.
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Welcome to my French Country Fall Home tour!! If you are coming from Virginia Sweet Pea, welcome! I’ve joined many other fabulous bloggers in a Fall Home Tour Blog hop today!
The rarely seen “other side” of the fireplace! I don’t photograph it too much because it is hard to get a good picture. My trusty owls have perched here for the Fall.
Close ups of the vignettes on the fireplace.
Velvet pumpkins sit on the antique piano.
Now for the pièce de la résistance! Shades of blue and pink velvet pumpkins sit on this mantle.
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I’ve been busy working outside in the yard so far this year so I have not spent much time inside. Sharing my Summer kitchen vignette.
Peonies fill a French pitcher in the center of the island.
I love this color palette – blue, pink and yellow!
This blue and white candle came from Laduree. It looks like Wedgwood but it is not!
I moved my black and white Courtly Check collection to above the range. I love it in its new place!
I plan to leave this vignette up likely until late August.
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A French country bedroom! This is a quick tour of one of my guest rooms that I have never shared with you!
My mom had these old twin beds that didn’t work in her house anymore, so I swooped in and took them! Otherwise this room would just be empty without a bed in it!
I originally had purchased the chandelier for my dining room, but then it seemed too small for the dining room and so I moved it in here. I had painted it gold as it originally was a bronze color.
The toile bedding came from Yves Delorme – a find many years ago!
I told you it was a quick tour… I don’t have much to say other than… TA DA!!! Here is a bedroom!!!
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This past weekend we had the opportunity to go to an open house and book signing at Steve and Brooke Gianetti’s Patina Farm located in Ojai, California.
They created one of the most charming homes and wrote about it in their multiple books – Patina Style, Patina Farm, and their newest book, Patina Living. The open house was to celebrate their new book, Patina Living, which is all about life on the farm in Ojai, California.
They have donkeys, chickens, goats and sheep at their farm. Below, their cute mini donkeys which have made me want little donkeys of my own! The rose bushes near the fence had most of the flowers nibbled off of them!
Visiting their house was like stepping right into the pages of their books! We have been admirers of their books for years and have been inspired by their beautiful home.
Brooke and Steve gave tours of the inside themselves. They had two days of an open house with 500 people each day – whew, what a lot of work giving tours to that many people!
Steve said in the garden he chose to do similar color palettes for all of the plants, so there are actually not too many different plants. The plants are all listed in their book.
Everything was so cute and utterly charming.
The roses were in full bloom, which was really pretty! Love their beautiful arches below. The donkey pen was to the left.
Below, the rose garden. The chicken coop is in the background with the climbing roses.
A look at the potting shed.
Inside the potting shed.
While their house and property was incredibly beautiful, I think the most satisfying thing for me to see was this: Seeing someone have a dream and go out and make it come true. The American Dream. Isn’t that what life is about?
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I suppose this post should really be titled “An Ode to Ranunculus”. They are one of my favorite flowers.
I literally walked around my house and shot a hundred pictures because I love them so much.
I couldn’t edit my post down to three pics, so decided just to share a lot of them in various locations in my house!
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We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.
